Finding your way: directions and geography
Lesson 11 of 13≈ 12 min
A nine-square grid
The Mahoran booklet teaches orientation with a nine-square grid: three rows (uju up, harihari middle, utsini down) crossed with three columns (potroni left, harihari middle, kumeni right).
By combining two words, you point to any square: uju potroni, top left. From the Nisusoma shimaore booklet (CASNAV, 2019, pp. 35-36).
The orientation grid
soifi « exactly »: harihari soifi, in the very centre; uju soifi, at the very top. Booklet, pp. 35-36.
| Row | Left | Middle | Right |
|---|---|---|---|
| top | uju potroni | uju harihari | uju kumeni |
| middle | harihari potroni | harihari soifi | harihari kumeni |
| bottom | utsini potroni | utsini harihari | utsini kumeni |
Positions and moves
Nisusoma shimaore booklet, pp. 35-36.
| Shikomori | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| uju na | on | |
| utsini na | under | |
| mbeli | in front | written m'beli in the source |
| nyuma | behind | |
| potro / kume | left / right | + -ni: potroni « on the left » |
| buza ! | turn! | buza potroni! « turn left! » |
The landscape
Nisusoma shimaore booklet, p. 44.
| Shikomori | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| kibulani / swilihini | (to the) north / south | |
| mashariki / maharibi | east / west | Arabic loans |
| shisiwa / masiwa | island / archipelago | |
| bahari | sea | |
| mwamba | coral reef | |
| mutsanga / mutsangani | beach, sand / at the beach | -ni: « at, in » |
| mulima | mountain | |
| muro | river | |
| shamba | field | |
| ndzia / pare | path, street / road | |
| dago | town, village; home | dagoni « at home » |
| tsi | country | |
| daruba | cyclone |
The -ni suffix: « at, in »
Added to a noun, -ni marks place: mutsanga (beach) → mutsangani (at the beach), dago → dagoni (at home), potro (left) → potroni (on the left). It's the same suffix as in klasini, « in class ».
Practice
« Bottom right » is said…
utsini ___.
« At the beach » is said…
___.
Mini-quiz
The exact centre of the grid is said…
harihari ___.
Next lesson: emotions
You can locate things. The next lesson teaches you to say how you feel: joy, fear, tiredness.